Sheffield Wednesday host Birmingham City in a huge six-pointer at the bottom of the second-tier standings - and David Prutton has predicted the Owls to come out on top.

Wednesday were beaten at Stoke City on Tuesday, but Neil Thompson's team have since been boosted by captain Barry Bannan committing his long-term future to the Hillsborough side.

But it's back to business for the hosts, who face arguably their biggest game of the campaign - and Prutton believes that Wednesday will come up trumps in a 2-0 victory, which would mark their sixth consecutive home win.

And whilst the Blues camp would appear significantly more negative than the Owls', Aitor Karanka's side are only below Wednesday on goal difference, although they make the trip to Hillsborough on a sixth-match winless run, which includes three straight Championship defeats.

With that form taken into account, Prutton thinks that Wednesday's strong home record will see them to three more points here.

He told Sky Sports:

"This is a huge six-pointer near the bottom! Sheffield Wednesday started the season with a huge mountain to climb, but it looks better now even if they still have a lot of work to do.

"Birmingham are free-falling, and Aitor Karanka will find himself in a very tricky situation if Birmingham lose again. Wednesday are good at home, so I think they will."

The Verdict

It's beginning to feel like this could be the end of the road for Karanka at Birmingham.

If Blues form continues, then they'll League One bound, and you wonder what the consequences of another defeat here might be.

And with Wednesday boasting an outstanding record at Hillsborough recently, it's no wonder Prutton has gone for another home win here.